The right stuff

Cage Page
The Right Stuff for Your Pet Mynah
by Kathy Butterfield

If your bird spends most of its time in its cage, then the cage should be large enough to have at least two or more perches to allow the bird exercise by hopping from perch to perch. Mynahs are not climbers. They only hop and fly. Place your birds cage in a room where he will have the most people contact. Mynahs are social birds and are happy to be with the family. This also helps encourage your bird to talk and become secure with you. The cage should be out of drafts to prevent the bird from catching a cold, and if sunlight catches the cage, the bird needs to have an area in the cage to get out of the sun.

Natural branches are the best perches for mynahs. They need to be large enough in diameter so the birds toes do not wrap completely around. If perches are too small it will cause your birds toenails to become very overgrown. An ideal cage is one with a wire grate at the cage floor and a tray below to catch any messes. Newspaper is the best thing to line the catch tray. Kitty litter has dust particles that can cause serious illnesses in birds.

This nest box has a plexi-glass window.

Most mynahs enjoy a shelf and a nest box. Some owners place a paper bag or a box in the bottom of the cage every evening instead of using a nest box for sleeping. The shelf in the picture is used for feeding dishes and resting.

Fresh drinking water needs to be available at all times. A hanging water bottle may be used but mynahs still need a bowl of water to play in. Keep in mind - the ball at the tip of a water bottle spout can get stuck and deprive your bird of water, so also include a dish of water in the cage.

A dish large enough for bathing (about 2 inches deep) can be hung inside of the cage or placed on the cage floor. A stainless steel hanging pet dish, or a plastic dog food bowl for the floor of the cage works well. The water will need change two or three times a day since a mynah will enjoy the opportunity to bathe and splash around in the water. A large piece of cloth, bed sheet, or plastic table cloth can be placed over the back and sides of the cage to keep fruit pieces and water splashes from messing up the surrounding walls. A throw rug on the floor in front of the cage will catch splashes also.

Mynahs mirrors and bells and shiny things. Some may even like a swing. Some toys for cats and parakeets can work for mynahs but do not use toys made with string because a mynah has a naturally split tongue and it can get caught and injured. Check over any toys or bells for anything tiny and loose that the bird could get into its mouth and choke. Mynahs like to play with the plastic medicine cups and bottle caps from milk jugs. They also like to play with a piece of wadded up paper to carry around and slam it against its shelf or perch. The attention span of a mynah can be short when it comes to toys but they still enjoy them at times. They are very interested in what is going on around them.

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